It's How You Use It
by EmSickle
Summary: Why one should never go after The Mine alone and how size isn't all that matters on the battlefield.


Golly, this is an old story, it's amazing what I get up to, to pass the time…

Thazgun pawed the ground around the flag to mark his scent.

'The Gold Mine shall soon be mine.' He mused to himself.

He looked up to see the faint colouring of a deep red on the flag; it was the colour of the Horde.

There was no one around.

'Heh…' he chuckled, 'this base is mine,' with that, the flag burnt to reveal a glistening blood red beneath. Thazgun howled in triumph.

Of course, he couldn't have seen it. Not as it jumped from the ledge above to vanish in a puff of smoke. Not as it crept, from behind a bush, silently towards him.

It hit him on the head, and cackled as it did.

Through his blurred vision, Thazgun spotted something small and pink tampering with his flag.

Thazgun was enraged. His form shifted to become a towering mass above the tiny creature. The pink thing did not spot him as he raised his giant mace with both hands. Muscles bulged on Thazgun's arms as he brought the mighty hammer down to meet the earth.

Pebbles cascaded into bottomless crevices as the shuddering ground tore apart. The tiny creature spun around as it was knocked off balance. The glare fell from its face as it spotted Thazgun, his titan body blocking the sun. It grasped for petite daggers that lay at his side – a desperate attempt to defend itself.

A great, bellowing laugh came from Thazgun as he saw the miniature blades poised in the tiny creature's hands.

'Give up and run, small one. You haven't a chance to defeat me.' His voice boomed across the mine. The undead miners even turned to glance at the two figures preparing to battle.

'You should know,' the pink thing said in a squeak of a voice, 'that a gnome never gives up!' the gnome charged forwards. He raised the razor sharp blades to meet Thazgun's shin. His steps were small and furious as he tried to reach his target.

Thazgun sighed and crouched down, he straightened his arm in front of him and put his hand level with the oncoming gnome's head.

The gnome's face smacked into Thazgun's palm. His eyes had been closed for the entire charge. He realised he had stopped moving and opened his eyes ready to give out a cry of victory. When, instead, he met the deep, black eyes of Thazgun, he screamed.

'Ugh,' Thazgun stepped back covering his ears with both his hands. 'What the hell kid? What was that for!'

'You… You… You hurt my nose!' he sat down on the floor and started to cry. Thazgun stared at him, bewildered.

'You do know you're in a battleground, right, kid?'

'Yes!' His eyes were still streaming with tears. 'And stop calling me kid! I'm 22!'

'Huh? What the… But… You look like a 12 year old!' _You even act like one. _Thazgun added in his head.

'Yeah, well… Looks can be deceiving. It merely adds to my fierce deadliness!' the gnome proclaimed 'Which you would have witnessed if I had not had something in my eye at the time!' he added with somewhat of a grumble.

'Right. Whatever, kid. Are you gonna scat or do I have to bash your head in with this here mace?' Thazgun motioned his head towards the great iron formation at his side. The gnome's eyes followed his motion and widened as they found the source of the fearsome cracks in the ground.

The gnome took a deep breath.

'You don't scare me!' His voice was barely above a whisper. 'If I can't beat you alone… Well…' the gnome slipped off his backpack and fumbled around for a while before bringing out a glistening, silver trumpet.

'Heh… What do you plan to do with that? Bore me to death?'

As Thazgun rolled around on the floor mocking the small trumpeter, the gnome played three short notes before stowing the trumpet back in his bags.

Thazgun sat up; tears of laughter streaming down his face.

The ground began to rumble. Pebbles skittered across the ground. A large cloud of dust and dirt was making its way toward the cliff of the Gold Mine.

Thazgun stared at it, unsure what to make of the unexpected occurrence.

As the cloud got closer, Thazgun could make out small shapes within the mass of dirt.

'It almost looks like a swarm of… Gnomes…' Thazgun muttered to himself.

The swarm grew closer; it tumbled over the cliff. Many a gnome was squashed beneath foot and shoe, but the crowd pressed on.

Thazgun grew worried. He glanced back at the gnome that had first attacked him; he was smiling.

'You can't be serious…' the mass grew closer, 'Oh, shi…' the gnomish barrage crumpled on top of him; gnome after gnome adding to the pile until it became a squirming mass of arms and legs.

Thazgun looked at the Spirit Healer.

'Y'know, I could've taken them. I just wanted to give them a chance.'

The Spirit Healer, usually motionless, raised an eyebrow in doubt.

'Well, could you have done any better?'

The Spirit Healer continued the incantations until Thazgun was resurrected.

'Didn't think so...'


End file.
